Dubai First Impressions

Such an early morning start today to catch the flight to Dubai, the taxi ride takes us past the herd of cows sleeping near the main village, in the middle of the road of course and on to the airport. There’s mist around this morning and as soon as we take off Hong Kong disappears. The arrival into Dubai couldn’t be more different, a vast flat, sandy landscape with a dust haze stretching into the distance making everything hazy and somehow secretive. We’re met at the airport and start the journey to the hotel in a luxurious car. The driver does his best to point out the sights as we travel along but frankly we’re just amazed at the size of the roads, 7 lanes each way on the main motorway only going down to 1 lane just as we reach the hotel. There are cranes and building work everywhere, no sign now of a global crisis here.

The hotel is in a great position at one end of the marina so we can see both the marina and through the other buildings the sea, it is air-conditioned luxury. We set off to discover the marina area, it boasts 7Km of waterside walkways plus numerous shops and restaurants. To be honest at first everything looks to be either under construction or closed for renovation, an area in its infancy but as we walk we begin to find places that are open, they’re just hidden inside vast buildings accessed by a discrete door. We pass the yacht club and find the Dubai Marina Mall with all the glitzy shops. From here we discover Pier 7, a huge round tower like building overlooking the marina. Each floor is one restaurant some funky urban spaces, some very dark, another very modern, we decide to come back tonight to try one of these. A walk back to the hotel makes us realise we’re hungry now so a quick snack and a refreshing drink at Angelo’s sorts that out.

The restaurant we decide on is on the 4^th floor, a choice made mainly due to very loud thumping music coming from 3 of the others, it’s only as we go into “Scene” that we realise it’s Simon Rimmer’s restaurant. We join the small queue at the desk to ask for a table, there appears to be 2 young ladies and they’re both busy. “Can I help you?” says a male voice, it appears that Dubai has speaking reception desks! Not sure how to respond we look at each other, the voice repeats the question “Can I help you?” and a head appears round the side of the desk at about hip height. “Could we have a table for 2 please?” “Of course, this way”. What appeared to be someone on his knees turns out to be a dwarf, who leads us to a table talking as he goes. Now it’s very difficult to hear someone talking away from you, over loud music and 3 feet below you, do you crouch down and ask him to repeat all that or smile politely and hope this is the right response, being British we do the latter. The restaurant is a funky mix of distressed mis-matched furniture, low lighting and beano wallpaper! The view of the marina is amazing and the food is pretty good too, slow roast lamb, crispy leek, mushroom and  smoked cheese pancake followed by sticky toffee pudding to die for, yummie….

Richmond and Aberdeen

We have a slow leisurely start to the morning with breakfast on the gorgeous rooftop terrace before driving to HK across the bridges that join Lantau to HK. The drive takes us over the mountains of Lantau through the cloud and down the other side towards the airport. We meet a wild water buffalo on the way ambling its way up the road, they along with some cattle have been released in the National Park and are free to roam where they like. The drive across the bridges is amazing, past the huge container port with vast cranes and 1000’s of containers waiting to be moved. On past the high rise buildings of HK and looking out over the sea to Kowloon and on to the road to Richmond. We get a fleeting glimpse of Happy Valley where the horse racing happens – this is a national sport and there’s meetings every week. The road continues to climb past Ocean World where the rides are set high on the mountain cliff edge for maximum scream value and the sweeping down towards Richmond. We pass tall skyscraper blocks with huge empty spaces in the middle, for the dragon to fly down the mountain to the sea in the morning and back up to the mountain at night.

At Richmond Steph and Gary guide us through the shopping mall and down to the promenade by the sea, it’s a place for posing in cars and walking your dog, the Porsche and Morgan cars passing us reinforce this impression. The Pickled Pelican is the place for lunch and upstairs by the windows offers great views of the bay and surrounding mountains. Of course it has to be fish for lunch, fish and chips and a salmon salad. Afterwards the exploration continues to a small market area which opens out onto the area’s one remaining beach. It’s really quite small backed by beautiful old beach houses and with an Indian almond tree overhanging the beach framing the view of silver sand, sea and islands, only one word for this gorgeous.

Our day trip is only halfway through, we continue on to Aberdeen, an old harbour area that’s great to explore by boat. The sampan is expertly steered by the lady owner, weaving us in and out of the moored and moving boats. There’s houseboats laden with people’s lives, small fishing boats, large fishing boats for deeper sea fishing, new expensive gin palaces, traditional boat building on the banks, the problem is not what to see but where to look next. The tour ends all too soon, but there’s more to discover as we land at Jumbo’s Floating Restaurant in the middle of the harbour. It’s hard to put its impression into words, huge, colourful, ornate all apply but none are adequate, there’s 2 huge golden dragons at the main entrance chasing the golden pearl of wisdom the endlessly rotates in a stream of water just out of their reach, there’s the phoenix on either side of them and ornate carvings painted in every colour covering every spare inch of space. The boys go off to explore the Tai Pak restaurant that’s closed for renovations, though it looks like nothing will be happening too soon, while us girls investigate the live fish tanks and pictures of the rich and famous visiting the restaurant in the past.

The inside of Jumbo is just as opulent and impressive, the double sweeping staircase paved in marble, the ornate lighting and huge colourful Chinese wall friezes are amazing. And then when we reach the 3^rd floor the huge dining room opens out before us and once more luck is with us we have the last table by the window and settle down to enjoy a Cantonese banquet. It’s arranged differently to banquets Dave and I have had in the past, the most prestigious food being served first – crispy suckling pig, crispy duck skin and pancakes, followed by steamed prawns, prawn, celery and cashew nut followed at the very end by special fried rice to fill us up – as if we have any room left! It’s a meal to linger over and savour before taking the ferry back to Aberdeen central.

The drive back to Lantau is almost in silence, saying goodbye to so many places and sights we’ve seen, a little sad but I’m sure we’ll be back after all Gary and Steph have come up with so many more great ideas for days out and places to visit a further 2 weeks might not be enough! We really can’t thank our excellent hosts enough for their warm welcome, time and enthusiasm to help us discover the real Hong Kong, where East meets West and the rich and poor rub along together on different paths. Meeting and reconnecting with old friends is great, discovering new deeper friendships is equally great, thanks Gary, Steph and of course Wilson.

Hong Kong and Kowloon

Dave and Gary are going for a Thai massage this morning to prepare themselves for a day of sightseeing. While they are gone Steph and I have a leisurely breakfast on their rooftop terrace, from the top here it’s a beautiful and fascinating view. The house is in a pedestrian only village surrounded by a bowl of forest so it’s really quiet. The surrounding houses have higgledy piggledy rooflines, some with terraces on the roof, others with nothing, none of it is the sterile urban development we’re used to seeing in the west. Steph takes me on a stroll through the village and surrounding area, past small holdings growing all sorts of crops from bananas to salad leave, past the wet market which is just finishing and along the seaside front of the bay. It’s a lovely area to live in.

Brunch is taken at their local restaurant, China Bear which does excellent food and juices the choice is huge. And then there is the slow ferry ride to Hong Kong, this time we can sit outside and see the sights as we chug along on our journey. There’s the emerging islands with little sandy bays, the widening expanse of the bay as we go round the islands, all the different boat traffic – huge container ships, slow ferries, fast hover jet ferries, traditional junks – and the ever impressive skylines of Hong Kong and Kowloon. The extent of the high rise development is amazing and soon we’re walking through it along walkways at 1^st and 2^nd floor level. All along the walkways is cardboard city, today is Sunday and it’s the maids of HK only day off, they’ve come to the centre of the city to meet up with their friends. There’s hundreds of them, chatting, eating, sleeping as we make our way past.

Our first must do is “The Stairway to Heaven”. It’s a series of escalators that connects the rich city to the richer apartments at the top of HK, they go on for seemingly miles, as there is only one it goes down to the city in the morning then in the afternoon the direction changes to go up the hill. All the time we’re passing rich and poor shopping streets, looking down on the lives of ordinary folk.

Next must do is the tramway to Victoria Peak, the queue looks huge but our tour guides assure us it will move quickly and soon we’re at the front of the queue waiting for the next tram, when the doors open it’s like a giant game of musical chairs and we lose out and have to stand. Now this turns out to be a really good thing as the views are even more impressive and we appreciate the steepness of the climb even more. The Victoria Peak Park at the top is heaving with people but a short way into the circular walk around the peak and they’ve all disappeared. It’s a beautiful walk through semi tropical jungle with occasional view points of the surrounding city which changes as we walk round the Peak. At the end, back to the mayhem and time for some refreshment, The Peak Café is the oldest on the Peak and seated at a table beside a huge banyan tree with great vies of the city at night I can see why it is so popular. A bottle of prosecco and “Tapas” of smoked salmon on nan bread, prawns in filo and calamari, along with good conversation is a great way to end on Victoria Peak.

Now for the taxi ride down to Star Ferry, a twisting and turning ride before we catch the ferry to Kowloon. Gary and Steph have timed it well for us as we catch the light show from the ferry and the observation deck at Kowloon. Another tick in the box. On to Temple Street Market – a night market selling seemingly everything always at a good price. And finally the ferry back to Lantau and a drink back at China Bear where we started, this feels like deja vue, as we sit at the same table. Did all that just happen or did I dream it, if I did it was a great dream!!!

Night Time Hong Kong

There’s little to say about another trip to an airport except this one seems very crowded and over extended especially trying to get through security and passport control. On the air side of Brisbane airport there’s very little to it, so not much to do when the plane is delayed by an hour. The plane eventually arrives and we leave Australia behind and head for Hong Kong.

Gary and Steph meet us at the airport and warn us we’re on a very tight schedule tonight as they plan to take us to some music bars in Hong Kong. A short ride over the Island of Lantau to their village of Mui Wo, the Chinese drums are beating, it makes for a great welcome to Hong Kong. We now have half an hour to get ready and back down to the ferry, the next one is in an hour and a half! That’s enough incentive for us, shower, change and out in 25 minutes. The ferry ride to Hong Kong gives us enticing glimpses of the Hong Kong and Kowloon skyline at night, hopefully we’ll see more in daylight.

Our evening of music starts in Lan Kwai Fong at Gary and Steph’s local for a drink, Rula Bula. It’s a great spot on the corner of the street to watch everyone milling around, the procession of people parading around the strip. We’ve arrived on great weekend to be going out in Hong Kong as the rugby seven’s tournament is on, consequently the streets are full of men in fancy dress – officers uniforms, surgeons, police complete with plastic chickens and men obviously caught short so making do with hotel bath towels. On to the first venue, Insomnia, the band plays a few numbers before going to a break, this seems to happen to us so many times.

We move on to another area of the city by the MTR, it’s another efficient underground system. The second pub is Amazonian in Wan Chai, it looks almost traditionally English with honey coloured sand stone on the walls and mullioned windows. Its packed full of people enjoying the band’s music and jigging up and down, they can’t do much more because of the press of people and the fact that their feet are stuck to the floor! After all this beer it’s time to fine the toilets, now I’ve never experienced crowd control on the toilets before. There’s a suited and booted guy complete with bouncers mike standing in the doorway to both toilets directing when to go in and when to wait. I wonder what he shouts over the mike to his colleagues – pee incident, man needs help?

Our evening ends with a cab dash back to the ferry to catch the midnight ferry back to Lantau. It’s been a great introduction to life here in the islands of Hong Kong. I have the impression of a life ruled by ferry times and a huge contrast between the rural quiet of Lantau and the Hubbub of Hong Kong.

Last day in Oz

Botanical Gardens

Today is our last full day in Australia and we’re determined to make the most of it. A lazy start to the morning is perfect followed by a walk to the city and on to the Botanical Gardens. They are absolutely gorgeous, showcasing many of Australia’s plants and the setting is amazing with the city on one side and the Brisbane River on the other looking out to Kangaroo Point. The stroll demands a quiet rest on a bench overlooking the river watching both the river traffic and the wildlife. We continue over the bridge to Southbank and wander through the parkland to picnic green lawn where we’re lucky enough to find 2 empty deck chairs, well it would be rude to pass them by. An hour and several zzz’s later in this peaceful area our tummy’s are rumbling. The café street offers many possibilities for lunch but the Mexican offering a burger and a beer deal grabs Dave’s attention and I must admit the grilled chicken salad is good too.



Music at The Post Office Square

After reluctantly packing the bags, we set off for the city to Post Office Square. There’s live music on tonight courtesy of Rush Café, with tables and chairs spread over the grass the soft jazz covers by the band are very relaxing as the sun goes down. The walk back takes us through Queens Street Market, back over the river and through Southbank to West End. After many, many debates over where to eat and a few too many footsteps for my liking we settle on Habitat. Like the previous evening it has a relaxed vibe and the food is gorgeous, a sharing plate of pork loin with apple and caramelised onion plus salad followed by corn fed chicken, olive crusted potatoes and fennel salad. It was a fitting end to our Aussie dining experience, it’s all been presented with great pride and even greater passion for good food. We have a lot to learn from the Aussies in this department. And so to bed, tomorrow Hong Kong.

Winery Tour




Jan at Tambourine Mountain Distillery

Today we’re off on a wine tasting tour with Cork ‘n Fork courtesy of Rob, Leigh and Tom, many thanks guys for such an awesome Xmas present. Judi and Pete have run the business for 15 years and are great hosts with excellent local knowledge of the Tambourine area and of the wineries we visit. The tour consists of just 2 couples so we get to know each other over the course of the day. The drive up to the Scenic Rim is beautiful and becomes ever increasingly sub-tropical the higher we climb.

Chocolate Lego Man Desert

The first winery is Heritage Wines www.theheritage.net.au which is set in an old convent that was transported up the mountain for the owners. It has amazing views from the wall of picture windows, no wonder it is a sort after wedding venue. The second winery is Cedar Creek estate www.cedarcreekestate.com.au  the wines are good but not too our taste, Pete is helping us narrow down what sort of wines we both like. The third stop is totally different – Tambourine Mountain Distillery www.tamborinemountaindistillery.com . Its run by Michael Ward and his wife Alla, he was filmed in 2011 for an ITV series “Poms in Paradise”. He like the distillery is delightfully different, the house is an old black and white tudor style house, there are too many different types of liqueur to count. Rachael is determined to find ones that we like and even one to cure my cough. After a few too many tastings we stagger back to the mini bus and off for our final tasting (do I really need more alcohol!) at Mason wines www.masonwines.com.au . This is apparently the youngest of the vineyards but we can only say their wines suited us perfectly. The lunch was equally wonderful, steak followed by chocolate lego man desert. After so much good food and wine it’s hard to stay awake during the return trip to Brisbane. Thanks again kids for the wonderful present and a very memorable day.



Dave & Jan at Streets Beach, South Bank

We need a walk to wake us up. A circuit over the pedestrian footbridge along the far side of the river and ending up at South Bank Parklands, it is simply beautifully designed. The Streets beach area looks even more inviting at night with the river behind and the lights of the city all coming on in the high rise towers. Brisbane really is an enchanting city.





Brisbane River



Storey Bridge

The Ferris Wheel on South Bank

Yesterday we discovered Brisbane by bus and on foot, today we plan to use the river. First, a walk across to the other side of the West End, past all the little shops, cafes and restaurants until we reach more residential property. Some of this is modern, but a lot is the traditional Queenslander houses built on stilts with large verandas. The road eventually brings us to the river and the landing stage of the city cat boat. We’ve discovered that this boat service runs from here stopping at various points in the city right out to Northshore Hamilton near the airport. The boat arrives and everyone gets on, students commuting to Uni, business men, mothers with prams and some other tourists like us. The cost of this tour (return of course) under £6 for us both, amazing. The river runs past the University of Queensland,  private properties with riverside moorings and large boats in front, the famous Storey Bridge (complete with people abseiling from the top), the city, South Bank, West End and finally our choice for a coffee break Bulimba.
“The Jetty” is right on the river front and is a perfect stopping point. The whole area is obviously affluent with a few nice restaurants and small designer shops. We don’t have long here before catching the city cat to continue on to Northshore, via Teneriffe!!! 


The Streets Beach on South Bank

The river is widening now as it approaches the ocean and just ahead we can see the Gateway motorway the last crossing point over the Brisbane River, it towers over the water with fast moving traffic streaming across it. The return journey is just as enjoyable and we decide to get off at South Bank to explore the area by daylight. The landing stage is at the northern end of the parkland and as we meander our way through the gardens we realise what we missed the first night. There are beautiful gardens arranged almost into giant rooms connected by bougainvillea covered walkways. There are numerous cafes / restaurants, a beach with lifeguards, children’s water play area, a herb and vegetable garden and a riverside walk. The Plough Inn provides a welcome respite from the heat with cooling drinks and a wonderful seafood platter to share, from our vantage point on the deck we’re able to people watch, mothers out with children, people on the beach or swimming in the pool next to the river, runners, cyclists and tourists enjoying the park just like us. It’s time for us to retreat back to the apartment to revive ourselves with a swim in the pool.

We're going back to Boundary Road tonight to try the "Little Greek Café" and we're lucky to get a table so the food must be good. The café is on the corner of 2 roads, it has tables inside and stretching up both side walks. The waitress recommends the lamb specials, so we order Lamb Kleftico and Lamb Florinen, they are both meltingly tender and tasty. On the way back we stop for a coffee at Habitat - it's all low lighting, chunky wooden furniture and intimate spaces dividing the restaurant into different areas.  




 

Discovering Brisbane

A Lizard sunbathing at Kangaroo Point

Today is discover Brisbane day, a walk to find tonight’s music venue first takes us to the West End district. It has a much more Camden Town feel to it, little coffee shops, recycling markets, ethnic shops and old buildings. There seem to be a good number of locals around all well known to the café owners, it’s a very comfortably, “village” type atmosphere, roll on tonight, but first where’s that tourist bus. We pick the bus up near the Cultural Centre (sorry we didn’t go inside) and ride to Kangaroo Point or city look out. This is a great spot to see the city of Brisbane, climb down the steps  to the park and walk along the river. Several rock climbers are scaling the cliffs, people are out biking or walking and lizards are sunbathing by the water’s edge. The climb back up to the road is via 106 steps and yes I counted them! I’m ashamed to say a couple of runners over took us on the way up, well they were at least 30 years younger than us.



The bus continued to Post Office Square, a lovely open space in the centre of the city where we took in the sights of the Anzac Memorial, Old Town Hall and the Old Windmill (first industrial building in Brisbane) and of course some lunch in a cool (in both senses of the word) café. A walk to Eagle Pier shows us how the other half dine in the swanky riverside restaurant’s overlooking the river. The final leg of the bus takes us past the Castlemaine XXXX factory, Suncorp Stadium and Park Road where we stop for a real Italian ice cream at “The Dolce Vita” before finally heading home.

Loc'N'Load by day 

Evening time starts early here as it gets dark about 5pm (and consequently light about 5.30am), the venue for tonight is Lock’N’Load an unprepossessing bar in the West End, until you get inside. The main draw is the live jazz tonight by Charlotte MacLean and sure enough she’s singing in the front bar accompanied by a pianist. The bar however is deceiving it stretches back to become a lovely wood lined room with false windows, chairs on the walls and eclectic art. The real gem is behind that a beautiful covered courtyard with wooden benching  around 3 sides and tables scattered along the length. There’s a huge mirror on one wall and exotic plants behind the benches draping artfully over us. And then there’s the food, I expected pub grub and got cordon bleu style cuisine – lamb medallions on potato and pea mash with lemon and mint salad  for Dave, Barramundi fillet on spiced pumpkin with spinach feta and pomegranate salad – absolutely divine. The jazz was soft and bewitching as well. On the walk back we were enticed into another local bar “Grilld”, by bluesy music. After they finished we got talking to the organiser Angela, she’s been in musical theatre all her life, performing in Mama Mia, Cats and as Liza Minnelli in Paris (France). She sang the last song acoustically and sounded like Eva Cassidy one of my all-time favourites. She does this every Tuesday as an open mic session for 4 local bands – so good to hear original good music.



Au Revoir Motorhoming

Did it rain last night! I’m surprised we haven’t floated out to sea. It’s a morning of packing up and putting things back into place inside the motorhome before we set off to deliver Glad back to Britz. We’ve decided on a coastal drive, inspired by a couple we spoke to in Forster, they live in this area and assured us that there are lots of lovely beaches and towns between Noosa and Caloundra. We are so glad we took their advice as the small towns of Mudjimba, Maroochydore, Mooloolaba are all beautiful as is Caloundra where we stopped. There were several beautiful beaches, nice cafes/restaurants and shops. We can only sample one café and choose “The Naked Turtle”, which produced a great burger and open bacon, advocado and tomato sandwich all on Turkish bread.

Farwell "Glad" it's been a blast

Now for the last leg of the journey back to Britz, we don’t speak much, I think we’re both feeling a bit sad that this part of our Aussie adventure is over and we have become very attached to Glad. Even Gertie sat nav is reluctant to tell us how far we have to go. One last check of Glad and she’s gone, off to ferry people on another adventure. The taxi ride into Brisbane doesn’t take long and we’re soon at Morgan Suites on the South Bank. It’s a lovely one bedroom ultra-modern apartment on the top floor overlooking the mountains, city and building site opposite! The man in the crane is at eye level with us, I’m hoping for the diet coke break advert from him! The washing machine and dryer take a battering before we go out for a snack. The only place we find is a microbrewery pub called “The Charming Squire” – good beer, excellent pizza what more can I say.

Last day in Coolum Beach



Us on the boardwalk above Coolum Beach

It’s definitely promising to be a mixed day weather wise, this is more UK than Oz, the only difference is the 30 degree plus humid heat. It varies between being just below sweating point to way over it, not pleasant. The slowest stroll ever to the headland followed by an iced fruit drink just so we can join in with the café society that is so prevalent here. It’s a day of dodging the heavy showers, relaxing either in a café or in Glad’s company. A gorgeous hand in hand stroll along the beach watching the dark clouds roll in and the surf – for me there’s nothing like an angry sea. For our last motor homing meal we’re going to the surf social club, now this doesn’t sound promising to us Brits but we’re assured it will have the best location and food in town. The Aussies of course are spot on, great location looking out to sea and superb steaks, they’ve even got English Mustard, Dave is in heaven…

The downside of all this enjoyment is the very wet walk home it may only be 500yds but under a brolly shared by 2 in driving rain it’s not good. And worse news we’ve stupidly left some windows slightly open to ventilate the van, bad move, wet bed for the Morse’s tonight! Well one slight disaster in a month of motor homing is pretty good going, sorry Glad for giving you rheumatism



Noosa and Bangers and Mash for Tea!

It’s a hot and humid morning again, and a drive to explore Noosa that we’ve heard about from friends and family is the plan of action. The drive is only short but past some stunning houses and views across the coastline. Noosa the town is quiet but full of both essential shops and boutique dress and home shops, a great place for me to wander around. A coffee and carrot cake in the Black Pepper café restores his good humour, but the drive down to Noosa beach area and the attempts to park a large motorhome in small car sized spaces soon evaporates both our patience, we admit defeat. Maybe a Saturday lunch lime was not the best time to explore this area but it does look amazing, we retreat back to Coolum where we can walk for hours on the endless beach.



Tandem Skydiver above Coolum Beach

During the walk we’re befriended by many enthusiastic dogs out with their owners and watch children with families playing in the sea. Part way down the beach there’s a crowd of people all gazing skywards, we can see a dot of a small plane above and finally a few faint dots appear. The tandem sky divers have jumped from the plane at 4000 ft (why would you!). They land on the beach next to their families with great whoops of joy – I just don’t think that would be my reaction, maybe it would be Dave’s.

The evening in a traditional British meal, bangers, mash and beans – well the sausages are from South Africa, the beans are from Australia, and the potatoes are given the British treatment of mash. Now that’s a multi continent meal! And to add to the homely touches it begins to rain, ahh there’s nothing like the Great British BBQ in the rain even if it is 30 degrees! P.S. Rob Happy 26^th Birthday still thinking of you down here in Oz.

Queensland via Brisbane

The day starts early (about 6am) with swimming practice, not for us but the local children of Byron in the open air pool next to out campsite. Consequently, we’re packed up and on the road by 8am. We’re driving northwards again, this time heading for the sunshine coast past Brisbane, but first as we enter Queensland we decide to visit the Gold coast or more specifically, Surfers Paradise. The drive along the “beachside” tests both Glad and Dave, it’s not enjoyable. The high rise buildings tower over us and the re-routing due to road works tests us all. I had this romantic idea of a lovely breakfast in a quaint beachside cafe, how wrong I was, we couldn’t find a café let alone park near one! We give up, Surfers Paradise may be the stuff of dreams for some but not for us. I settle for a subway breakfast somewhere north of the Gold Coast on an industrial estate, not quite what I’d hoped for but by the time we ate it very acceptable.

Gertie the sat nav continues to guide us northwards and Glad, with a few, engine light hiccups valiantly follows the directions. We’re now in the outskirts of Brisbane and having told Gertie to avoid toll roads, she does an excellent job however, Dave and Glad don’t appreciate the convoluted journey she’s weaving. Finally, we reach the other side of Brisbane and are on the wide open roads of Queensland heading for Coolum, our final stop for camping in Australia. We’re worried it won’t be as good as all the others after having such good luck all along the way. We’re delighted to find that the final stop is in a lovely Australian seaside town, right next to the beach. Our pitch is huge but with direct beach access and no neighbours, may be they think us Brits will contaminate everyone! The temperature here is 35 degrees and very humid, we’re very sweaty blobs after setting up, a swim in the ocean soon sorts that out. The beach again is huge, with soft white sand that squeaks as you walk over it and a gentle sea breeze to fan us.



Jan on Coolum Beach

For the evening I’ve set my heart on a Thai meal at Si Suphan, just a two minute walk away. The restaurant is nearly full and the take away trade is booming – always a good sign. Again this is a BYO so I’m dispatched to the nearest bottle shop to do the honours, fortunately just next door and no brown paper bag this time. The meal is divine, Nasi Goreng for Dave (a firm favourite from our honeymoon) and Szechuan beef with steamed vegetables for me an afterwards a visit to the Bowls Club to listen to live music. An interesting experience, just like entering an up-market working men’s club in the UK. The music was of the same calibre, we didn’t stay too long, after all it was an early start today….

Beaches, Music and Street Art

It’s a gorgeous sunny day that greets us this morning, perfect for lazing on the beach so with sunscreen applied and bag packed we walk down to the start of Clarkes beach. There’s a few people already there but not many. We watch people doing yoga on the beach, people jogging and families playing. It really is the perfect place for children to grow up. One group of 4 small children are having simply the best time splashing in and out of a deep hole dug in the sand which has filled up with water, then chasing each other in circles through the shallow water at the edge of the sea. I’m enjoying watching the young men wandering by with their surf boards while Dave seems quite preoccupied with the slender blonde young woman sunbathing nearby!

Surfers Alley street art

Lunch is at the Byron Bay Café and I has fantastic views out to sea and along the coast. The pulled pork burger is equally good. After all this a stroll back to town, there is a great music scene here in Byron, busking (with a license) is encouraged, consequently there’s lots of live music around the town. There also seems to be a number of aborigines around, singing and playing musical instruments. There's also a lot of street art on buildings and utilitarian boxes, painted up to be VW campervans. This all adds to the relaxed vibe of the place.  

At sunset we’re watching a young man play and sing at Byron Fresh Café when the nightly cacophony of noise starts, the lorikeets are getting ready to roost in a tree just above the café, the tree is vibrating with noise and the number of them all fighting for a space in the tree. The tree looks like it’s changing colour from green to red and gold. An evening BBQ by the seaside next to Glad is a great way to end the day.

Iconic Byron

It’s raining and hard, however we’ve noticed that rain doesn’t last too long here, so by late morning we’re walking into Byron and then on towards the headland. It’s common in Australia to see yellow diamond shaped signs warning of animals (kangaroos, koalas, wombats) for the next x number of km’s, but the one on the way to the headland is the best we’ve seen yet – wildlife cross here! Do the animals read these signs and do they obey them?  The path takes us along the coast, across boardwalks and through bush until it emerges at the end of Clarkes Beach. The short walk across the beach brings us to the fisherman’s lookout, from here we can see the whole of Byron Bay one way to the end of Belongil beach and the other way to Watego and Little Watego beaches. Below us in the water the surfers catch the waves with varying degrees of success. The way back is along the length of the beach back to Byron, it feels so good to walk along the beach and even better to lay down and sunbathe for a bit. This feels like the sort of beach holiday we used to take – lazy days by the sea or pool followed by an evening meal in town.



Tonight we’ve picked the “Lazy Italian” for our evening meal. The sweet potato and salmon gnocchi with lemon and dill sauce / pasta Bolognese tastes as good as it sounds. The only thing is that the restaurant is a BYO (bring your own) so Dave is sent to the bottle shop on the corner. I sit guarding the table as they are in demand while Dave marches down the street to find the bottle shop before returning with a bottle of wine in a brown paper bag. He says he feels like he’s doing something slightly illegal or turned into the local wino... After such a huge meal a stroll is needed and the Beach Hotel is playing live music. Inside the bar is huge with a big stage for the band, a large open bar and sport playing on several vast TV’s. This must be the ultimate destination for any boy’s weekend away.

St Patrick's Day in Byron Bay

We’re constantly surprised how much we fall in love with each new place we visit and consequently how sorry we are to be leaving. This morning is no different, we’ll miss the calm lush tropical surroundings, the kangaroos and brush turkeys. The kangaroos pay us one last visit, chasing away the brush turkeys as they bound by and with that we’re off for Byron Bay. Now usually we look forward to the drive but today we just want to be there, we’ve read a lot about Byron Bay. The drive takes us across several huge rivers, the Clarence and Richmond to name just two of them. They must have looked impassable to the early explorers but now they’re easily overcome by the large bridges built over them.

We find the campsite right in the middle of Byron Bay, perfect for enjoying the town and fortunately having booked a clifftop  site we have a great view out to sea. The site is so different from the previous one, a cosmopolitan ordered site with villas in neat rows and well-manicured gardens. We’ve got setting up to a fine art now, 10 minutes and we’re good to go wandering around the town before sunbathing on Belongil Beach – clothing is apparently optional but I’m definitely keeping my cossie on as I seem to be the oldest and wobbliest body on the beach! The town is iconic for its surfer types and I can understand why, with seven beaches all facing slightly different directions there must always be one where the surf is good to play in!

Tonight is St Patricks day and as everywhere all over the world it’s being celebrated, here in Byron in a relaxed surfers fashion. We’re eating out at “Fresh” simply gorgeous barramundi and chips / squid with chilli and salad all preceded by orange infused olives (which we couldn’t finish and had to as for them to be boxed to go!) all accompanied by live acoustic music and the sound of surf, amazing. Now Patrick and Marie Wallace in your honour we found one of the only three pubs in the village and it was playing Irish music, we thought of you both as we jigged along to the traditional tunes (the wild rover, Marie’s wedding…) , Happy St Patricks Day and may there be many more especially in our beloved Tenerife with you both. 

Beware Turkeys and Kangeroos!

The day starts with two turkeys, one has a green paper cup in its beak (obviously a great find) and the second one wants this cup, they race by Glad’s steps just as I’m stepping out. Now nearly being mown down by turkeys wasn’t one of the hazards I thought I’d face in Australia. 

Mother Kangaroo and her joey 

It’s a sunny but very windy day and the walk to “Look at me now” Headland is a challenge into the wind but the views from the top are well worth the effort. We can see The Solitary Islands, Mutton Bird Island and numerous sandy beaches. The wind is whipping up the surf on Emerald Beach but Shelleys beach just over the headland is relatively calm. A small willie wagtail bird (yes that is its name…) joins us at the top carefully hopping along the ground, and no wonder as soon as it takes flight its blown straight over the edge not to be seen again! On the grassland further down the track is a mother kangaroo with her back to the wind sheltering her joey, we keep a respectful distance.




Us on "Look at me now" Headland




The drive to Woolgoolga is short and worth discovering, it’s set on a large sweeping beach, which today is completely empty and very windswept. The small town is a good mix of housing, small shops and boutique businesses. A local takeaway kebab/juice bar takes our fancy and as the kebabs are prepared we chat to the owner. Like most Australians he’s travelled to Europe and the UK and is eager to discuss this and our current travels with us, it’s a pleasant way to pass the time. The local park with its covered benches provide a great place to eat lunch all the while admiring the view of the beach, surf and sea. The pool back at the caravan sight and a good book provides the perfect relaxed end to the day, followed by an excellent steak cooked perfectly on the BBQ in the camp kitchen. We’re getting to be old hands at this camp kitchen thing!

Emerald Beach



A lizard strolling by

A beautiful sunny day with a cooling breeze, perfect for a morning on the beach. It seems to be dog walkers paradise along the beach with dogs dashing in and out of the waves chasing the surf and out on the water are surfers catching the waves. Back at the site we watch the kangaroos feeding getting ever nearer to us. Dave must have spent half an hour stalking one for a good picture only for it to stroll up to the back of our site! Later on a huge 3 foot long lizard strolls out of the bush looks at us, licks its lips then slowly walks away, phew what a relief, if it had come this way I’d have had to get on the table.

Emerald Beach

Later on over dinner, there’s sounds of musicians doing a sound check. It turns out that there was a wedding yesterday. Tonight the bride and groom are celebrating with family and friends over a BBQ, a few drinks and playing music. It’s great to see such a relaxed outside wedding celebration, we wish them well.

Port McQuarie, Coffs Harbour and Emerald Beach

 

Port Macquarie Beach

We’re going to Coffs Harbour today via The Lakes Way and the Pacific Highway and I’m pleased to note that Glad seems to be feeling much better no flashing engine lights so far. It’s yet another beautiful drive with expansive scenery for us to admire. Our first stop is Port McQuarie to admire the beaches and be amazed at the surfers out on the water all visible from the small headland park above the beaches. No time today to relax, next stop, Macksville for a picnic lunch on the banks of the gorgeous River Nambucca. We are constantly amazed that every rest stop in any town no matter how small has toilets, covered picnic benches and tables along with a functioning gas BBQ. The Aussies have got it absolutely right in this respect to encourage more of the outside lifestyle that we love.

Now I spoke too soon about Glad being better, we’ve made the fatal mistake of running the fuel too low and shortly after, on comes the dreaded engine light again and we limp up the hill. Fortunately, we now know the solution so more engine thrashing for Glad and afterwards a much happier van and occupants.



Coffs Harbour from Mutton Bird Island 

Outrigger boat rounding the entrance to Coffs Harbour

The second stop today before we reach tonight’s campsite is Coffs Harbour. Now we have been warned that it is not great now, however, as newbies to this coastline and it’s towns this is not our experience. Admittedly, we have the briefest of stops and concentrate on the harbour, beaches and Mutton Bird Island but it is simply gorgeous. There’s an “outrigger” competition going on, the 6 man boats seem to be from all sorts of places up and down this coast. We think we’ve missed the main action but more of that later. A stroll along the harbour wall lets us admire the surf beach on one side, the boat harbour and the town beach with children playing, people swimming and surfing lessons being given. The walk leads to Mutton Bird Island, a bird sanctuary for the shearwaters and a wonderful vantage point for viewing the majority of Coffs Harbour. The climb up initially is very steep but the views are well worth every ounce of effort, it’s a 360 degree view and even better  we can see the outrigger boats battling along the coast and positioning themselves to fight their way into the harbour. Honestly, their effort and seamanship to avoid the rocks at the harbour entrance is magnificent, we find ourselves cheering on the boat in last place, well we brits do like a lost cause!

Onwards to Emerald Beach our stop for the next 3 nights, so different from the last stop. It’s beach side, tropical and full of wildlife. So far we’ve seen turkeys, lorikeets, parrots, kangaroos and lizards all within half an hour. A walk to the beach takes all of 1 minute and the local restaurant looks great, we’ve booked a table as so many were already reserved however note of caution to me, it’s Mexican and I remember a previous Mexican!

 

Stormy Forster



At "Beach Bums Café" Forster

After that beautiful sunset last night this morning doesn’t look too good in the weather department, but I really want to see a bit of Forster, at least Beach Bums Café which sounds really appealing. It’s right on the beach with good views of the beach and bay, as we sit there relaxing behind us the clouds are building and when everyone starts paying their bills and running for their cars we follow their lead. Just in time we reach Glad before the most torrential cyclonic rainstorm erupts, we can’t see much through the windscreen. Eventually we get back to the campsite, having diverted through the Forster Keys to ogle the houses and boats either on the drive or water behind their houses. To my delight the Australian Grand Prix coverage is on so we “kickback” and relax watching it while the spasmodic rainstorms roll by. 

Sad Farewells

We leave Sydney today with sad goodbye’s but many promises to meet up again soon, a friendship this good deserves to be continued. Yuki’s goodbye s a disdainful look over her shoulder from the bottom of the garden and Smokey gives us a suspicious look from the end of our bed as it has only been on loan from him for the last 4 nights.



Dave, Dave, Matt, Lee, Toni & Jan at Acua

Now, after a refuel it’s time for Glad’s workout, she’s not keen on this engine thrashing and crawling along but takes her medicine. Soon we’re speeding along heading for Bulahdelah a lovely small town and great place to stop and restock our supplies before we head along The Lakes Way. The views through the trees are great and soon we’re spying water through them on both sides of the road and then suddenly there is one lake after another until we reach the outskirts of Forster.

The site is set on the lake and we have uninterrupted views across it, a great spot to relax and watch the sunset which tonight is an iridescent  bright red.



South Sydney - Bondi beaches and more



Jan & Dave with Sydney in the background

Our final full day in Sydney, it’s hard to know how Dave and Toni will top the last 2. Dave drives us through the city to Bondi Beach of course in the open top car so we can pose with the best of them. We have now crossed the Bridge both by train and car. Bondi is an amazing mix of people from beach bums to yummy mummies. After a walk to the headland to see the extent of Bondi and the rest of the coastline, the boys opt for some wave action, while Toni and I chat in a trendy coffee shop. The next stop on the tour is the headland at the entrance to Sydney Harbour, from here we can see all of the harbour, the fingers of water stretching into the city and on the other side the Pacific Ocean, totally amazing.

Lunch today is at Doyle’s On The Beach at Watson Bay, a great spot for lunch, chatting, people watching and ogling the view across the water. The seafood was just as awesome and after so much of it the only thing to do is drive home to enjoy the pool and a great evening of memories, old pictures and chat. As Toni said it was a day “right out of the box” – what a great description of not only this day but all of them. How can we ever thank our hosts, they’ve not only shown us the sights of Sydney, they’ve treated us to an insider’s view of life in this gorgeous water mad city and let us be part of their family.

Sydney Sightseeing

Second day of our sightseeing itinery and Toni is in charge today with a visit to the sights of Sydney city centre. But first and most importantly there is an early 06:45am date for the two Daves and Matt with the TV to watch Man Utd v Arsenal in the quarter finals of the FA cup. They’re all ardent Arsenal supporters and are rewarded with a 2:1 win, roll on the semi-finals.

 To start the day and insight into the commute many locals have to the city centre, a drive to the local station of Gordon then a train ride into the city on a double decker train. We’re both fascinated by this, half the people appear to be sitting below the height of the platform while the others are looking imperiously down on us. Toni’s guidance for an upper deck seat is spot on as we can see everything from this height especially crossing the Sydney Harbour bridge. The walk begins with a visit to the QVB (Queen Victoria Building) housing many high end shops and a lovely coffee shop looking directly at one of the clocks. As it approaches 12 tourists begin to gather to watch it strike midday, we have the best seat in the house to watch the little ship circumnavigate the globe of the clock.



Sydney Harbour Bridge from the Manley Ferry

The sightseeing begins in earnest with a walk around Darling Harbour admiring the many expensive apartments and eateries plus a very large cruise ship. We continue through the city to circumnavigate The Rocks, the oldest part of Sydney where the first settlers started building and on the park in front of The Harbour bridge, there we have great view of both the Bridge and the iconic Opera House, you can’t fail to be hugely impressed. We walk round Circular Key, past the ferries which operate like buses carrying people to all areas of the vast harbour. A stroll round the opera house just to work up an appetite for lunch which Toni suggests we should take at The Establishment – a beautiful old “pub” in the business district. The bar area is long and spacious but the rear courtyard all old exposed brickwork, exotic plants and a magnificent water feature erupting from one wall. The food is equal to these wonderful surroundings and I must say the rest from walking was much needed. After lunch a walk through the beautiful Royal Botanic Garden to admire not only the plants but also the birdlife and iconic view of the Opera House superimposed on the Harbour Bridge. Time for home via the train, a short rest before getting showered for our evening meal at Acua, a  superb restaurant by the Olympic Pool infront to the Harbour Bridge. We can only say that the food was superb and the company of Dave, Toni, Matt and Lee made the evening very memorable (together with the yummy risotto / pasta starter followed by meltingly tender pork, main course).

Matt was our evening tour guide, showing us great night time views of the Harbour Bridge all light up and the views from his apartment which encompassed a large part of the harbour including the Bridge – New Year’s fireworks must have been spectacular from this viewpoint.

 

North Sydney Beaches and Ferries

During  last evening Dave and Toni have organised our sightseeing itinery for the next 3 days, again it’s a very tall order but they have come up with a great plan. Today its beached and ferries but first that all important phone call to the van doctor. His opinion is that some rubbish in the fuel is causing a blockage, next time out Glad is in for a high impact engine work out before being reset to  see if this will cure her, that will have to wait till Thursday.

It is the most perfect day today, Dave (now it’s getting confusing will the Dave’s!) drives us to Palm beach, their local beach in his open top sports car. This is great fun especially for us girls in the back with hair blowing in the wind. The beach and sea are absolutely perfect today so we start with a swim, the water is beautifully warm, and the waves are breaking just right. The setting of the bay couldn’t be better, gorgeous houses set in trees all-round the most perfect bay edged in golden sand. The drive afterwards back along the peninsula ogling the huge and opulent homes of the rich and famous is the stuff dreams are made of, an open top car, friends and a perfect blue skied sunny day.



Palm Beach

Our lunch stop is at a Bavarian bar by the Manley ferry, more beautiful views of the bay before we board the ferry. Now the full size of Sydney harbour begins to reveal itself, inlet after inlet snake their way deep into the city while the harbour continues to expand and grow ever busier with ferry and boat traffic as well as sea planes. All the while the density of the buildings is increasing as we approach the Opera House and Sydney Harbour bridge, such iconic images of Sydney. There’s only just time for a lap of the Opera house before we catch the ferry back to Manley. A brisk walk to Shelly beach watching surf lessons, paddle boarders and swimmers ends our day of beaches and ferries but a family meal with Dave, Toni, Matt and Lee (and of course their gorgeous cats Yuki and Smokey) makes it absolutely perfect.

 



Friends Re-united

Today we’re driving to Sydney to stay with our friends Dave and Toni. The drive along the Princes highway starts well, with little traffic but gradually becomes busier especially with motorbikes of all descriptions going both towards and away from Sydney. We’ve decided to make a midway stop for brunch somewhere past Noowra. It soon becomes apparent that Glad is suffering this morning, the engine management light on the dashboard is making a more regular appearance, by the time we reach Berry, Dave has reset it twice already. 

The Berry pub



Berry is a quaint small town with lots of cafes, antique shops, market stalls and old hotel. It seems to have all the bases covered, bar, bbq, café, sports coverage, betting shop and gaming machines. The covered decking area is littered with biker types in leathers and families with small children. We opt for a tomato and feta salad for me and a bbq lamb kebab for Dave, now somehow and I still don’t understand how we’re also served a very good beer battered fish!

Suitably full after the excellent meal, we push on towards Sydney, but Glad is clearly not well. The frequency of the engine light making it’s appearance is increasing and at more inconvenient points on the road, usually just before a hill. The roads are now wide fast moving freeways, not ideal for a large slow moving motorhome to be slowing to a crawl going uphill on a blind bend. Gertie the sat nav continues to do her job giving excellent directions as we limp along with Glad. It’s with much relief that we reach Dave and Toni’s. we are made to feel so welcome and drinks and a bbq restore us. First task tomorrow phone the van doctor to fix Glad.



Lazy Saturday

Oh bliss, a lazy day, nothing much to do just relax and watch the world go by after all it is Saturday and a Bank Holiday weekend Saturday at that

A stroll across the bridge and along the promenade, watching out for the huge pelicans resting on the lamp posts overhead, admiring the expansive sweep of the bay, people fishing off the rocks and others messing about on boats. A coffee each and a raspberry muffin to share at starfish café before we finish the walk back over the bridge. Now comes the interesting part: the bridge is suddenly shut to traffic and pedestrians but half way across the bridge, the reason, a boat is about to go under the bridge and it needs to open. It doesn’t cantilever like most bridges we’ve seen before, the whole middle section rises up. It all takes about 5 minutes before everything is back to normal, such a slick operation, all automatic controlled by the “house” on top of the bridge, now that’s where we should live!



Lorikeet

We spend the afternoon between the pool and sitting on the grass overlooking the bay, listening to the bird sounds get louder and louder, 6.30pm is feeding time for them and they’re restive! It’s such a beautiful evening we decide to go out to eat at a Tapas bar we’ve seen by the waterfront. The setting is perfect, the evening balmy and the meal wonderful, lamb stifado, crispy slow roast pork and white beans.

Batemans Bay



John and Jen

It’s with heavy hearts we leave this morning having enjoyed “The Canberra Experience” and the good company of John and Jen but we look forward to Batemans Bay. Thanks to more inside knowledge from our Aussie cousins we enjoy a lovely mid-morning stop for a coffee in the historic town of Braidwood. It’s a quaint town with the original court house and many buildings enhanced with the wrought iron lace balustrades. There’s boutique shops, shops selling home made goods or old second hand goods and an excellent bakery, that chocolate muffin had our name on it.


The rest of the journey is an unexpected trip back through steep mountain roads, switch back bends and lots of forest until at Nelligan we suddenly meet the Clyde river and follow it to Batemans bay. The campsite is right by the bridge into the town, perfect for leaving Glad for a rest and us exploring on foot. After a walk to explore we arrive back at the campsite in time to watch the early evening feeding of the birds. The noise of the loriqueets, cockatoos, galas and pigeons is deafening as they all compete for the lion’s share of food spread out for them in front of Glad. Several of the galas perch on the wires above wheezing asthmatically, while the cockatoos walk heavy footed across the top of our awning before peering upside down over the edge at us.

Canberra in a day!

Well today with John and Jen as guides we are going to try and see Canberra in a day and capture its essence and history. This is a very difficult task we’ve presented our guides with. We start out at the National Arboretum where fire came within metres of destroying Canberra but now there is the most magnificent replanting of a huge range of different trees and great views of the whole city. There’s also a wonderful National Bonsai exhibition, Dave and I feel inspired, perhaps this is the way forward for our gardening exploits. We continue with visits to see the governor generals house, parliament house (we go in to see both the house of representatives and the senate in session and visit the roof for great views). We continue the tour with visits to the national gallery which has a wonderful James Turrell exhibition and a beautiful reflection pool, the museum has so many displays it’s impossible to do more than scratch the surface of information and we finish with a drive up Anzac Parade, the avenue to the Australian war memorial. Our lunch stop amongst all this sightseeing is a delightful café in a rose garden with dappled sunlight and birds all around. All is interspersed with great conversation and information from both our guides about the history of places, their building and development and the thoughts of Australians on events etc.. The day passes with lightning speed until we are almost thrown out of the museum at closing time, we honestly could have stayed for days. In the evening Jen and John treat us to a real home Aussie BBQ and we all fall to reminiscing about times gone by and hopes for the future. John, Jen you we’re truly great city guides and even better hosts, it’s a time Dave and I will treasure for ever, Thank You.



Parliament in Canberra

 

 

 

Family Reunion

It’s with bitter sweet thoughts we get ready to move today, on one hand we’re sad to be leaving Jindabyne as it’s an area we’ve fallen in love with but on the other hand we’re very happy and excited about our next stop. We’re going to Canberra to meet Dave’s cousin Jen and her husband John, this also means we’ll be staying in a house with a proper bed and bathroom for the next 2 nights, such luxury. The drive is the reverse of our drive to Jindabyne, equally spectacular. We decide to stop for coffee on the way in Bredbo at a crepe and pancake house, it sounds unusual and we’re looking forward to choosing what we’ll have. As we approach the café, I say to Dave well we won’t be stopping here, there’s a note on the door “gone fishing back sometime”! Lunch and coffee postponed until we reach the outskirts of Canberra.

First impressions of Canberra as a city, where is it I can’t see anything but trees however the roads are excellent, wide and virtually empty. Later on talking to John and Jen they explain that Canberra is a designed city started in the 1960’s and is based on a series of self-contained village/neighbourhoods, with none of the development allowed to go above a certain height and definitely not on the top of the many hills of the area. What an excellent concept. At John and Jen’s we are given the warmest welcome imaginable and the rest of the day and evening passes so quickly with the exchange of family news , Jen’s excellent cooking and a visit to the centre of Canberra after dark for the “Enlighten Canberra” event. I can only say it is spectacular with all the major buildings lit up with changing light shows on different themes and little paper sailing boats on the lake all changing colour. Time for home and bed, we have a huge day of sightseeing tomorrow.



Enlighten Canberra